by M. R. Joseph
“Ok, ok. Um hey, guess what? Do you realize that this is where we had our first kiss, right here on this very table, in this very room?”
“Oh, it is. Oh, Luca I love you so much. Thanks for hitting me in the head with that door.”
“Anytime, baby. Now PUSH!”
“Ok, Leighton, the head is out. One more big push should do it, ready, go.”
“Ahhh, Luca, don’t let go of my hand, please. I’m scared.”
“McKenna, do you also fix broken bones, because I think she just broke my hand.”
“Shut up, Luca. I have to get it out. Oh, God, oh, oh oh.”
“It’s a girl! You have a beautiful baby girl.”
“A girl. Oh, Leighton look at her. Look at our baby. She’s beautiful.”
“Oh, my goodness, look at all that hair. It’s so dark. Hi, baby girl. I’m your mamma, and this is your papa.”
“Daddy. I want her to call me daddy. There’s only one papa.”
“Let me check her out real quick, but she sounds like she has good, strong lungs.”
“Oh, ok. Bring her right back to me, McKenna.”
“Leighton, I’m so proud of you. You were amazing.”
“Did I really break your hand, baby? I’m so sorry.”
“No sweetheart, you didn’t. I’m so proud of you. You were so brave. Look, here she comes. Hey, sweet baby girl. We waited a long time for you. She’s so tiny in my arms. She looks just like you, honey.”
“No, I think she looks like you. Strong, and calm, with chocolate eyes. Like two little Hershey Kisses.”
“Luca, your dad wants to come in. Is that ok?”
“Sure James. Let him in. And again, sorry buddy if we ruined your day.”
“Oh, God, Luca don’t be silly. It’s not every day one of my best friends goes into labor as me and my new husband are in the middle of our last dance of the night.”
“Thanks Gracie Lou. You look beautiful today.”
“Thank you, but not as beautiful as this little peanut right here. She’s perfect Leighton.”
“Where’s my grande bambino? Oh my, what is it.”
“It’s a girl, Papa. A beautiful girl.”
“She is so beautiful, oh Luca, you have a daughter. Look at that, little bella. Can I hold her?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Hello, my lovely. Do you have a name?”
“Yes, papa. Meet Mia Bella.”
“Oh, Luca, after your mamma. Oh you make me so happy. I cry now happy tears. I am so proud of both of you. Oh little Mia Bella. I am going to teach you how to dance. I teach you papa, and I teach you mamma, too. You are going to be a beautiful dancer. I gonna teach you so much. How to make pasta, make meatballs, love Italian music, and when you fall in love, I gonna show you how no matter what, when you find that one true love, you both will be written in the stars, cause when you fall in love Mia Bella, like your mamma and papa, it will be forever.”
Take My Breath Away~ Berlin
Prologue
Pour Some Sugar On Me~ Def Leopard
Leighton and Michael in bed
Hello~ Lionel Richie
Luca thinking of letter girl in his office
You Give Love A Bad Name~ Bon Jovi
Michael
I Just Died In Your Arms~ The Cutting Crew
When Luca first meets Leighton
I Got A Crush On You~ The Jets
Leighton meeting Luca at Lucky’s for the first time
Every Breath You Take~ The Police
Luca seeing Leighton at Lucky’s with her friends
Heat Of The Moment~ Asia
Luca and Leighton in the hot tub
Don’t You Want Me Baby~ Neon Trees Version
Luca secretly seducing Leighton after his run on the beach
Anyway You Want It~Journey
Luca and the hose
I’ll Stand By You~ The Pretenders
Luca and Leighton during the thunder storm
Good Bye To You~ Scandal
After Michael shows up at Leighton’s
Crazy For You~ Madonna
Luca and Leighton in the kitchen after the confrontation with Michael
Lost In Your Eyes~ Debbie Gibson
Leighton thinking of Luca when she goes back to Philadelphia to discuss the fate of her job
Livin On A Prayer~ Bon Jovi
The Back Yard Party
Keep On Lovin You~ REO Speedwagon
Luca and Leighton after the party
True Colors~ Cyndi Lauper
Luca and Leighton’s Bedroom Picnic
Bizzare Love Triangle~ New Order
Pizza Delivery
Waiting For A Girl Like You~ Foreigner
Luca and Leighton’s listening to the band at Lucky’s
Till There Was You~ Jerry Vale
Luca and Leighton dancing in Papa’s kitchen
I Want To Know What Love Is~ Foreigner
Luca and Leighton in the car after going to Papa’s for dinner
Maneater~ Hall and Oates
Val in the bathroom
With Or Without You~ U2
Luca at the reunion
Alone~ Heart
Leighton after the reunion
At This Moment~ Billy Vera and The Beaters
Luca thinking of Leighton
Against All Odds~ Phil Collins
Luca in New York
All Cried Out~ Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam
Leighton in New York
Total Eclipse Of The Heart~ Bonnie Tyler
Luca and Leighton at Wes’s party
I Believe(When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)~ Stevie Wonder
Luca and Leighton’s Theme Song
Mom and wife by day, author of contemporary romance by night, M.R. Joseph rediscovered one of her first loves, reading, and decided that she too had a story to tell. She took pen in hand and created the Reunion Series. She is a “Happily Ever After” type of girl who wears her heart on her sleeve, believes in true love, soul mates, and that the fate of love is controlled by our own destiny. Becoming an author was a dream she never knew she wanted, but now it is her passion, and she prays it continues.
M.R. lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia with the love of her life, her two beautiful kids, and the most adorable Goldendoodle dog the world has ever seen.
I’ll start off by saying what a very blessed girl I am. Over the past year my life has turned into one that has brought me joy, excitement, fun, and experiences I could never have imagined.
First and foremost to my readers! What would I do without your love and support. You are the reason I write, I create, and why I honestly love what I do. If it wasn’t for you, I would not be where I am today. Every single person who reads any of the words I write, have everything to do with the success of the books. From my hometown of Ridley Township, Pa to Brisbane, Australia, I love you and thank you from the bottom, top, and both sides of my heart.
To my incredible family who has gone along for the ride with me. For encouraging me and telling me to stay the course even when I wanted to scream, bang my head against the wall, and then crawl into my bed and cry. Thanks for telling me snap out of it.
To the best group of friends a girl like me could ever ask for. You all are a wonderful support system, my biggest fans, and thank you for giving me some fan-freaking-tastic content to write about. You will recognize a lot of our moments in this book. I love you guys.
To my kids who have been so good for their daddy when mommy was in her writing lair. Thanks for popping your heads in, asking me how it was going, and for thinking I write like Dr. Seuss. You are my gifts from God and I am thankful and proud of you both every single day.
To my mentor, one of my biggest supporters, and the one who is the reason I went on my California adventure, Julie Prestsater. Thank you for your wisdom, guidance, knowledge, for taking my first baby book, polishing it up for me, believing in the story, and pimping me out big time. I owe you a debt of gratitude. It’s fu
nny how you can live 3,000 miles away from someone, never meet, but yet be a friend. A true one who stands behind you, and cheers you on. Love ya, girl!
Thank you to Angela from Fictional Formats for your beautiful work!
To Mr. Joseph (Ha, Ha) for again designing a gorgeous book cover.
To my betas, Tina Bell, Dani Bartholf, Stephanie Leone, and Lisa McKeown. I couldn’t ask for a better bunch of betas. Thank you so much for your suggestions, taking the time out of your busy lives to read, and for making me laugh in the process. Love you all.
To my editor, Sandy Connor, for again being by my side, listening to me yell and scream over text, and just doing another fantastic job with another one of my books. I’m really proud of you and I think we as a team are growing and learning a lot. You are fantastic. Love ya lots!
Lastly, to anyone out there that dares to dream about writing your own book, my advice, follow your dreams. You will have no idea where they may take you unless you try. It’s all about taking the risk, finding what your meant to do, and the rest will follow.
As I wrap up this series and I begin a new one, I just have to say how a little story I had in my head, that I needed to get out, has brought me so much joy. Reunion is my baby, always will be, and the books that follow it. Even though I’m sad the series is ending, I’m very ready to move on to what I like to call the next chapter.
At the end of this book, please enjoy the first chapter of my friend Julie Prestsater’s awesome first book in her series, “Against The Wall”, then get a sneak peak at the prologue to the first book in my new series, “Giving In” The Shore Series. Coming in fall of 2013.
XOXO~ M.R.